Just a quick post today and then I’m back to sculpting and prepping horses :)

I’ve been working the last few weeks to get sections of my site here updated. The biggest change is the reorganization and review of my Tutorials page. I’ve added more categories so things are easily to find, and re-arranged the table of links. I removed some dead links and added some cool new tutorials from around the web.

Hovito winning Champion AR Mini Foal at NW Congress this month.

I’ve also updated my color galleries and winners page to include pictures from my most recent shows including NAN and this month’s NW Congress.

I also added a few items to my sales page- I’m hoping to trade a couple painted pieces for resins that I’m looking to acquire.

Day three of NAN was the quietest day of showing for me, and thus allowed the greatest amount of time for oogling (and some relaxing, since I was pretty dang tired from two big days of showing!)

Since the third day of NAN is for OF Collectibility and China, I wasn’t showing any of my horses. But I was proxy showing a very nice string of OF Breyers for Erin while she judged.

Erin judging a lovely class of China Arabians

Although I only have customized models, there is a weird little part of me that loves Original Finish models, particularly vintage ones. I don’t want to collect them, but I love to look at them and marvel at the hobby history. So day three of NAN was full of eye candy for me- the OF Collectibility rings showcased some of the rarest, most amazing models in existence.

Kirsten Wellman’s incredibly rare blue Fury. Only a few of these are known to exist.

Pinto Family Arabian Foal on a base made for the Ford Motor Company. Owned by Kirsten Wellman.

I enjoyed showing Erin’s lovely collection, which includes some cool vintage pieces as well as more modern models.

Erin’s “ES Thanks, Baby!” is a rare Proud Arabian Foal made for only a short time in 1959.

ES Sir Chalkington III, Esq. is a beautiful chalky Adios made during the 1970’s oil crisis.

These were the first two of these Premier Club models made, and the only ones mounted on a base. They were given away randomly to a luck Premier Club member.

The only bummer about day three was that the hall was FREEZING. It had been cold the other two days, but this was a whole other level. I’m often the person wearing a sweater when other people are in t-shirts, but in this case I was definitely not the only one!

Those of us who happened to have brought blankets (I had one in the van for napping on the road!) wore them around the show hall all day. In my desperation, I’m also sporting a fleece cape that is usually used to wrap models.

Luckily day three showing wrapped up a little sooner than the other days, so I was able to escape back into the wonderful warmth of the Kentucky sun.

Erin’s show string with the day’s winnings.

We packed up and headed back to the hotel. NAN was over, but Breyerfest was about to begin and there was no time to slow down…

After the excitement of day one, I sort of just… floated… into day 2 of NAN. The Day 2 divisions are OF Performance, CM Halter, and AR Halter. In addition to showing my horses, I was proxy showing Erin’s amazing string while she was judging other classes.

My day was a little quieter since I wasn’t showing performance, but I stayed plenty busy keeping track of the various halter classes. In between, I oogled the entries in the OF Performance division.

Showers setting up their entries in OF Performance

Erin’s incredible grumpy pony winning Champion Other Pure/Mix Pony. ES Sir Kix-a-lot was customized by Emilia Kurila. He was also champion in his workmanship class!

While I know that performance is my strong suit when it comes to model showing, I have less confidence in my customizing and painting. Earning top tens at NAN in breed and workmanship was thus extra special and exciting. The caliber of models at this show is breathtaking.

My first win was also my biggest for the day- Mr. L. B. Scuttlebutt won Reserve Champion UK Pony!

Next, Pollyanna Plaudit took a top ten in Other Stock.

After the CM and AR breed classes were finished, the workmanship divisions started. My wins in workmanship are particularly sweet because all three of them were in classes judged by the esteemed Leslie Kathman. Leslie is an accomplished equine artist and a published expert on horse color genetics. For her to deem my work worthy of a rosette was a huge honor.

Salty Captain took a top ten in the Bay/Black Other Scale class.

My wee foal Hovito won top ten in Other White Spotting Pattern.

And finally, my sweet Pollyanna Plaudit went two for two by winning a top ten rosette in Stock Type Appaloosa. Leslie writes extensively on the intricacies of appaloosa patterns, so this was probably my favorite moment of the day!

And I wasn’t the only one having a great day…

Tiffany wearing all of the rosettes won by Diana in the CM and AR divisions. Diana’s stack of plaques was equally as impressive, but not as wearable!

We arrived in Kentucky on Sunday evening, and Monday was a blur of errands and preparation. Suddenly it was Tuesday and I was on my way to my first NAN.

The first day of NAN is OF Breed Halter and CM/AR Performance. I was excited and nervous. The hall was enormous.

The show hall, with the very first classes being called.

There were twelve show rings, with multiple classes loading at one time. Thanks to some wonderful volunteers, it wasn’t too hard to follow the classes- we had an announcer keeping us constantly updated on the status of each class, and a volunteer manning a huge white board that listed which classes were in what rings.

The oh-so-helpful white board

For me, day one was all about performance. The day started with harness and then several costume classes. I didn’t have anything until the fifth class, so I did as much prep as I could for my upcoming classes and then wandered around nervously looking at all the entries on various tables.

Erin’s four Quarter Horses winning top tens in their breed class.

Finally my first class was called! I had two entries in Scene/Other Performance: Troy Soldier doing horse agility (well, in this case, mule agility) and Puns N Roses doing a liberty demonstration.

One of the awesome things about NAN is that after every class, the top tens placings are announced (in random order) and then they announce the champion and reserve. I love these announcements because you get to hear all the fun names, it’s exciting listening for your horse, and you get to cheer for your friends.

Scene/Other Performance was a big class with some very impressive entries. The announcer listed off the top tens… and the final name she called was Troy Soldier! It was a wonderful moment.

Erin snapped this picture of me, gleeful at winning my first ever NAN Top Ten.

The awesomeness just continued from there. In the next class, Jumper/Cross Country, my old standby performance horse Nightfox won a top ten with my new Star Wars themed jump.

Meanwhile in the other ring, I was setting up my hunter over fences entry with PHF Richard Squared, my beautiful CM Seabiscuit that Tiffany gifted to me earlier this year. When the winners were announced, I was stunned to hear his name announced as Reserve Champion! One of Tiffany’s horses won Champion. Wahoo!

Thank you Tiffany!

I love showing performance so much, and getting to do so at NAN, with so many of my friends, with the finest judges in the hobby and the stiffest competition… it was a blast. I was stunned and excited and proud as my entries continued to win top tens as the day went on.

Jaime – Top Ten Other English

Puns N Roses – Top Ten Stockwork with my new cows

Meanwhile Erin was garnering ribbons in both CM/AR performance and OF breed halter…

And Tiffany was kickin’ butt in performance with her trademark flare.

After a full day of showing we were down to the very last class- CM/AR Western Riding/Reining/Dressage. I had two entries in this class, both PHF Richard Squared and Puns N Roses. To my joy they were both announced as top tens. I was walking over to the table to disassemble my setups when they announced Puns N Roses as the Champion of the class!

I was so completely stunned, and then dizzy, and then I actually thought I was going to pass out. Folks were clapping and congratulating me and I had to sit on the floor until my head stopped spinning.

This is the face of someone who is trying to play it cool but actually can’t stand up or speak coherently.

Talk about a grand finale to an amazing day!

Packing up and heading back to the hotel is all a blur…I was so happy and hungry and excited. I have learned so much in the last few years- from my obsessive research on breeds and events, from countless blogs and tutorials, from my amazing mentors-turned-friends… and this day was in many ways a culmination of all of that.

What a trip! My NAN/Breyerfest Extravaganza, aka Kentucky Ahoy, aka 2500 Miles to Paradise, aka Sleep is for the Weak… is over. I’m home, rested, recovered, and even starting to organize my hundreds of photos.

I partially did this trip because I wanted to understand what all the fuss was about, and boy, do I! I’m going to do my best to share my experiences here in a series of posts- I could never fit it into one or two!

Our roadtrip started at 6am on a Friday. With three showstrings, road snacks, several duffles, and multiple totes of sales neatly tetrised into our beautiful van, we headed east. And kept going east, and kept going, and going.

You know, when you have good friends and good conversations, 2500 miles just isn’t so bad.

Day one route

We switched drivers regularly, marveled at the intriguing souvenirs sold at truck stops, looked for antelope, and complained (once we got to Nebraska) about the endless cornfields. We only got lost once, very briefly, in the wilds of south western Iowa.

And finally, one day three, we reached Kentucky.

A most welcome sight

From there, it was just a little bit longer to our final destination, the famed Clarion Hotel in Lexington. Roughly sixty hours after we left home, we had arrived. Let the festivities begin!

I’m writing this from a Dairy Queen in Nebraska, just about halfway through our epic road trip from Portland Oregon to Breyerfest in Lexington Kentucky.

This will be my first Breyerfest and my first NAN- I’m excited to say the least.

I miss blogging. I regret that the busyness of work, life, and hobbies has kept me from posting more regularly. The online community was so crucial to me finding, loving, and learning about this hobby. So it’s important to me that I continue to be a participant and share my experiences and newfound knowledge. Here’s to more blogging in the future!

To everyone else Kentucky bound… See you there! Travel safe and good luck!

Through February and March I was busy working through my to-do list of things to get in time for Breyerwest. Barely a week after, and I find myself back in the studio.

My studio, mid February

My studio, today

I’m back, exhilarated by my success and excited to be working on tweaks and improvements for my next show.

The two major differences in the photos above are my shiny new ribbons, and a beautiful new horse.

If you read Jennifer Buxton’s blog (who doesn’t!) then you’ll know that I was very successful in the performance division on Breyerwest. It’s the best I’ve ever done at a show, and I’m honestly still kind of in shock. My sectional champ ribbons are hanging proudly above my studio, while the overall reserve and overall grand ribbons- which are too long for the studio- are in the utility room, making me happy every time I go in there for laundry or hobby supplies.

Showing performance is a blast. I’m proud to say that at least one of my new hobby friends has been convinced to try it. I’m excited for Anna Helt (nee Kirby) who posted on Facebook that she is prepping for her (first?) foray into performance showing, after years of making the hands down best stablemate tack in the hobby.

Showing performance is fun, challenging, rewarding. I love the prep work, the planning, the details, the research, the precision. Sometimes I think about my setups while I’m going to sleep or stretching or driving. I’m an addict… and very happily so!

I’m enjoying the model horse hobby as a Do-It-Youself-er, making my own horses, props, and tack. I have a small collection of minis and love to show performance. This blog is to share tips, strategies and musings on our hobby in general and the DIY aspect in particular.- Leah Koerper email me